Customer Reviews

Frontier Kentucky

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"Frontier Kentucky" is one of those books one might not expect a lot from: small, short, and apparently written for young readers. Having just read a couple of top quality histories (the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for history's ("Washington's Crossing" by David Hackett Fischer, and "Cavalryman Of A Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart" by Jeffry D. Wert) and having started "Almost A Miracle: The American Victory In The War of Independence" by John Ferling, I was in need of a break for some lighter reading.

I found Rice's book to be far more than just met the eye. While it is, indeed, lighter reading compared to the others I mentioned, it is still good reading. "Frontier Kentucky" is a part of The Kentucky Bicentennial Bookshelf, a series of small books about Kentucky history and personalities. Having read several other more detailed books on Kentucky history, I enjoyed the summarizing, fly-over survey that characterizes this book. It is not strong on detail, leaves out many parts of stories, does not venture very deeply into some of the why's and wherefore's, but does serve to tie events together in a way that a deeply detailed presentation cannot do.

The one real weakness I found in this book (which I bought at a library sale for only 25 cents) is the appalling lack of maps. Other than the one on the inner face page, there are only three maps in the whole 132 pages. Plus, owing to the size of the book, 5" X 8", I literally had to employ a magnifying glass to read the map print. It does have 8 pages of pictures and portraits which add interest, but 8 pages of maps would have been far more preferable to this reader.

Rice has, I think, fulfilled his goal: to present Kentucky's rich history from its beginning in the early to middle 1600's up to 1783, the end of the American Revolution, in a simple, readable and interesting way. He will appeal, possibly, mostly to young readers, and wanna-be historians like me who enjoy the occasional historical survey to tie the host of details together in a memorable way. Having read Rice's efforts, I feel that I understand the big picture better than before.

Four stars for interest and readability. Good maps would have added the other star.